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Near fatal bike

My son is recently a victum of a illegal left turn(failure to yield right of way by the SUV) that put him in the tauma center in Raleigh for 2 weeks. Multiple severe injuries, many terrible fractures, 12 units of blood, but he will recover and he and his family are thankful he is alive! Any suggestion at finding a good lawyer in a case lke this? Any first hand experiences as to what to ask what to avoid, anything? He is a 22 year old senior at NC State and ready to enter vet. school at NC State but this accident will put with in a wheelchair for 3-6 months and delay his schooling at least a year. Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

I glad your son survived this accident. As for a lawyer there are many options one of which is to get a referal from other lawyers. The local or state BAR Association might be a good place to start. There are lawyers (unflatteringly known as ambulance chasers) that specialize in cases like your son's but, good references are needed. Best wishes to your son for a full recovery.

Law office in Raleigh

There is a K1200 rider in Raleigh by the name of Lonnie who lost his leg to a car in a bike wreck (he's still riding with his prosthetic leg), and he used Martin & Jones for his successful legal suit against the driver. He has appeared in their TV and print ads, and told me that they did a great job of being legal champions for his situation.

They have offices in Raleigh, Durham, and Wilmington. 1-800-662-1234

Good luck and let us know how things work out. There is a considerable BMW bike community in the Triangle and they could be a good support group.

I can't recommend anyone specific - but there are attorneys who specialize in motorcycle injury claims, and they're usually fellow riders. Worth looking in any local moto rags to see if they advertise. I suspect a fellow rider will have ideas that a non-riding attorney might miss, and I'm sure he'd understand better how the incident happened and be better able to get that across to a jury if it comes to that.

There is one local one in NJ who comes to our club meetings every few years with a very informative talk on how your insurance should be structured for maximum benefit if something should happen (no-fault can really play havok with motorcycle insurance..) He's the sort of attorney I'd be looking for if I had need of one for this sort of situation.

Terribly sorry to hear of your son's accident.
Be sure to get an attourney soon. you do not want to feel that you are chasing $$$ at your sons expense, but be sure the other party is lawyering up as we speak.
My son was killed in an accident in November, - Involving a shool bus failing to give right of way, the driver was a 77 year old man who has a history of failing to give right of way, this time he killed someone - my son.
Hoping you son makes a full recovery, he is young and the human body is amazing.
Best wishes

As a former insurance adjuster, I think you should do a little research before you retain an attorney. If the coverage limit is low and the other party has few assets, it would be a shame to give an attorney a third of the settlement if the insurance company will pay the limits willingly. If there is a question of liability, other parties that might be involved or assets that might be reachable, then an attorney is clearly needed.

It used to bother me when an injured party that badly needed the money retained an attorney right away when they could have gotten the full amount themselves with no problem. I still remember a motorcyclist who lost a leg when he was struck by a tenant farmer with no assets. Both the motorcyclist and tenant farmer had minimum policy limits. The initial hospital bill was only $3,000 less than the policy limits.

'You can say what you want about the South, but I almost never hear of anyone wanting to retire to the North.

I have been through a similar accident - interview several attorneys but most importantly, get one immediately. Try to get one that specializes in motorcycle accident and injury cases - like doctors, lawyers specialize and you are only cheating yourself if you don't take advantage of that. There is a very real chance that your expenses, both immediate and long-term, will easily exceed the other motorist's coverage.

I have heard good things about Tom McGrath:http://www.motorcyclevirginia.com/home.aspx
but again, you will want to interview several. If you have a friend who is a lawyer, ask his or her help in the selection process.

Never trust an insurance company to do what is solely in your interest, especially if it represents the other driver. Were this a less-complicated case it might be reasonable to assume that you might be able to recover at least 2/3rd's of what an experienced lawyer would - if the accident is as bad as you describe it could easily go into the hundreds of thousands (mine was about $625,000 when all was said and done, and that was just the medical bills from the accident to my return home, about 5 months in various facilities in all.)

On the injury side - I can offer two great pieces of advice that I wish had been passed to me... First, insist on second opinions! Simply being a doctor does not automatically mean he or she is right, matter of fact I found that they are just flat out wrong more often than anyone could realize. Second, go to specialists! There are specialists for knees, wrists, ankles, etc. and each will inevitably know far more and be far more skilled at whatever surgery is needed than a general orthopod. Not realizing this caused me much pain and grief, and once a kind doctor friend of mine saved me from some really bad diagnoses, knowing it saved me lots.

Never trust an insurance company to do what is solely in your interest, especially if it represents the other driver. Were this a less-complicated case it might be reasonable to assume that you might be able to recover at least 2/3rd's of what an experienced lawyer would - if the accident is as bad as you describe it could easily go into the hundreds of thousands (mine was about $625,000 when all was said and done, and that was just the medical bills from the accident to my return home, about 5 months in various facilities in all.)

But it doesn't matter what the claim is worth if there is insufficient insurance or other assets to pay the value of the claim. If the claim is large and the assets are limited, it seems a shame to pay a third of the recovery for nothing. Hopefully, the other driver has high policy limits and an umbrella. If so, I would hire a good attorney. The best attorneys that will follow through with suit treats are usually hated by insurance companies. Some attorneys are known to settle everything without going to court. Adjusters look forward to the lets make a deal guys who make their money through volumn rather than high settlements (they frequently have more ads than most).

'You can say what you want about the South, but I almost never hear of anyone wanting to retire to the North.

Exactly - for every "If" a good Attorney will be able to fill in the blank. When vehicle insurance is insufficient, and it often is, there are usually options for the remainder.

I cannot agree more however that an Attorney who races to settle simply to get the maximum out for the minimum in is a waste and a prime candidate for an attorney malpractice suit, complaints with the state bar, etc. The decision to settle or sue is one that involves many considerations, a good Attorney will go over all of them with you and let you decide.

Interview your potential lawyers - ask how they would pursue the case, how many cases they have tried, what kind of cases specifically, etc. Ask fellow riders for recommendations and don't hesitate to ask probing or uncomfortable questions (like, "have you ever had any professional complaints or disciplinary action?"

What Ted has said. Plus, you might want to seriously consider an out-of-town attorney with a statewide reputation as a plaintiff's attorney. You can be unhappily surprised by the local legal politics (spell that "relationships") that you become aware of when you're in too deep to change horses. Best wishes to you and your son for a speedy recovery (but be patient on both fronts....these things take time).